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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

[ISTANBUL] Archaeological Nerdgasm, Domes, and Minarets

There
are many districts to explore in Istanbul. As for me, I just decided to stick
to Sultanahmet because I am just here for two days anyway, and I want
everything to be chill. You know you want to take things slow when you opt to
split two destinations facing each other into two different sightseeing days.
And so day two was reserved for the Blue Mosque, as well as Topkapi Palace. But
the museum and palace of Topkapi was closed because it was a holiday, which
made me settle for the Archaeology Museum.

And
some serious nerdgasm occurred in that museum. So I’ve been having this weird
fascination with dead languages recently, right? And I have made a ten-year
plan for me to study ancient languages, starting with Latin and followed by
Ancient Greek. These two classical languages will take six years altogether,
after which I plan to take advantage of free German university education and do
a bachelor’s degree in Assyriology and Egyptology, where Middle Egyptian and
Akkadian will be tackled.

What
does this have to do with the Archaeology Museum? Well, aside from rocks and
preserved artifacts relevant to the arts, language also play a big part in the
history of early human civilizations. One area of that museum was reserved
especially for that. When we talk about Mesopotamia, Akkadian and Sumerian come
into play, while hieroglyphs are obviously the trademark for ancient Egypt. It
was the first time for me to see a good collection of tablets with
4,000-year-old cuneiform inscriptions on them. Wow.

If
you are not familiar with cuneiform, this form of writing uses arrows and
lines, and somehow seems to be the basis for the Wingdings font on Microsoft
Word. Well, not really. Wingdings would look more like hieroglyphs, actually.
But whatever. I usually hate museum tours, but this one made me want to go back
to school so bad. I guess this is what you need when you begin to lose
motivation in pursuing a field related to ancient history. Okay, too much geeky
verbal diarrhea has been unleashed here. Let’s move on.

For
those not interested in dead languages, you can always attempt to appreciate
ancient art. Some ancient civilizations were big on mosaics, although the
splash of color is kind of limited given their preference for large rocks and
boring whitish marble. In any case, most of them considered size to be an
indication of grandeur, so there are many giant structures in that museum which
can be good backdrops for an ancient-themed selfie. That particular wing is
rather small, though, and perhaps an hour will do.

Go
further to the back of the complex and you will see a small building with
glistening blue tiles. You’ve guessed it right, that’s the tiled museum
dedicated to tiles and ceramics, of which I’m not a fan. That simply meant that
I checked it out for five minutes, realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea, took
a goodbye selfie, and went ahead to explore other options. There are sculptures
at the garden straight from the Byzantine period, so you might want to check
that out.

If
not, then go to the last unexplored area, which is the bigger museum dedicated
to the history of Istanbul and its neighboring cultures. There you will see a
lot of art pieces that defined the history of the region, which includes modern
day Greece and even Rome, to some extent. The first hall is littered with busts
and bigger than life sculptures of celebrated personalities back in the day.
Each region had its own defining characteristic in terms of artistic style, but
I think special knowledge of art history is needed for that.

There
are three more floors upstairs, and it gets darker and cooler as you ascend to
a higher floor. The topmost floor is reserved for neighboring Cyprus and Syria.
What I saw there were mostly pottery, some human skeletons, and a sarcophagus
or two. That hall is rather dark and the panels are predominantly black, which
gives off an eerie kind of vibe, like some ancient curse will come alive and
follow you home. You know that kind of sinister shit you see in movies?

The
hall dedicated to the history of Istanbul is on the second floor, if I’m not
mistaken. This is probably the section that I enjoyed the most, simply because
of Istanbul’s colorful history. Once known as Byzantium, this city once
rivaled Rome in terms of significance, and even outlasted it as the Roman Republic
met its demise. Captured by the Ottomans, what was once Christian suddenly
became Muslim, and the resulting marriage of cultures has left behind an
artistic legacy that’s simply hard to ignore.

I
really appreciate the history lesson, although I must admit that too much art
bores me to some extent. If anything, this trip sort of strengthened my
motivation to pursue ancient languages. I saw some Ancient Greek in that
museum, and it made me look forward to finishing Latin and adding that dead
language to my list. A return visit is definitely due in the future. As I said,
this visit just came five years too early. But hey, it reinvigorated my
interest in the field, just when I thought that it was withering away.

The
day ended at the Blue Mosque, too early in fact because it was just 4 PM when I
called it a day. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is still spectacular even with the sun
against it. In this manner, the Hagia Sophia seems to be hogging the spotlight,
literally, because it’s facing the sun. But the mosque on the other side of the
park is not to be outdone, what with the plethora of tourists and locals alike crowding
the vicinity. There is always a unique photo waiting to be taken.

Going
inside is tricky because you have to follow the prayer schedule. If you didn’t
know, well, this mosque is fully operational, which means people actually come
here to pray. The entrance for visitors is separate from that of praying
Muslims. You can’t wear anything sleeveless, nor shorts that will expose your
knees. You need not worry if you do, though, because the mosque’s
administration provides shawls and cloth to cover you for free. Footwear should
be removed and placed in a plastic bag provided at the entrance.

You
should definitely go inside if you have a thing for intricately designed
ceilings. While I think that the Hagia Sophia reigns supreme when it comes to
mind-blowing ceiling design, the Blue Mosque comes in close second thanks to
the hypnotic patterns etched on its domes. Other than this, however, there is
nothing more to see, unless you are Muslim and going there to pray. There is a
separate area for tourists inside, by the way. The middle part is reserved for
those who are praying.

And
this is where my tour of Istanbul ended. There are more places to see such as
the Galata area which I think includes Taksim, the Prince’s Islands accessible
by ferry, the Bosphorus via a river cruise, the Sea of Marmara, as well as the
Asian side. If you really want to enjoy Istanbul, perhaps a week would be fine
to maximize your tour. And that’s just the former capital. Turkey is simply
huge, and there’s still Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Ankara. The list just
goes on and on. Happy sightseeing! I’ll be back, Byzantium.